Ex-watchdog to be put on spot by peers

THE former head of a now-disbanded rural services watchdog will give evidence in Parliament today as part of an inquiry to establish whether government policies are meeting the needs of rural communities.

Dr Stuart Burgess, who chaired the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) until its abolition in 2011, is set to face questions about the long-term impact of the organisation’s closure and the effectiveness of current rural policy.

He will be joined by the Humber LEP chairman and former “rural Tsar” Lord Haskins, whose 2003 review of rural policy helped shape the 2006 Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act.

Both will appear before a House of Lords select committee as part of a wider investigation into the adequacy of rural and environmental legislation.

Opposition MPs and peers expressed outrage in 2011 when it emerged that the CRC was to be scrapped as part of the Coalition governments’ “bonfire of the quangos”.

The commission was originally set up under the 2006 Act to act as “an independent advocate, watchdog and expert adviser for rural England”, with a particular focus on social disadvantage.

It was replaced by the Rural Communities Policy Unit at Defra, which has since been absorbed into the department’s rural policy team.

But a decade on from the passage of the 2006 Act, peers argue there is a need to assess how effective existing laws and structures are in “enhancing our environment and our rural communities”.